Apparatus and Method for Transmitting Messages in Mobile Telecommunications System User Equipment

ABSTRACT

A method and device for transmitting a sequence of messages from a handheld telecommunications device to a telecommunications network is described, the sequence of messages comprising a plurality of messages to be transmitted at specified times. The method comprises transmitting a message of the sequence of messages and turning off at least one of the transmitter and receiver of the device after transmission of at least one of the messages in the sequence of messages. The method has particular application to messages that terminate a radio connection, such as RRC Connection Release Complete messages in a UMTS system.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This application relates to mobile telecommunications systems ingeneral, having particular application in UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunications System) in general, and in particular relates to anapparatus and method for transmitting messages in mobiletelecommunications system user equipment.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a typical cellular radio system, mobile user equipment (UE)communicates via a radio access radio network (RAN) with one or morecore networks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, withreference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of the method;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a RRC Connection Release procedureset out in 3GPP TS 25.331;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of the methodapplied to a RRC Connection Release procedure;

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C illustrate examples of potential power savingsprovided by the method;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a further embodiment of themethod;

FIG. 6 illustrates examples of potential power savings provided by themethod shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows an overview of a network and a user equipment device;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a protocol stackapparatus provided with a RRC block, in accordance with the presentapplication; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile device, which can act asa UE and implement the apparatus and methods of FIGS. 1 to 6.

The method relates to transmitting a sequence of messages from awireless telecommunications device to a telecommunications network. Thesequence of messages comprises a plurality of messages that are to betransmitted at specified times relative to each other. For instance, thesequence of messages may comprise a plurality of messages each of whichis to be sent X seconds after the previous one e.g. message 1 at 0s,message 2 at X seconds, message 3 at 2X seconds etc. The method hasparticular application to a sequence of messages that are intended toterminate or release a radio connection between the device and thenetwork, particularly in response to a command from the network toterminate the radio connection. The method comprises transmitting amessage of the sequence of messages and turning off the transmitter orthe receiver or both after transmission of at least one of the messagesin the sequence of messages. The method also comprises transmitting amessage of the sequence of messages and then turning off at least one ofthe transmitter and receiver of the device for a set period of time. Atthe end of the set period of time, the device then turns on whichever ofthe transmitter and receiver that was previously turned off, inpreparation for transmitting a second message at a specified time. Thesecond message is then transmitted and the process repeated, typicallyat least one of the transmitter and receiver being turned off betweentransmissions of the messages. This means that the device does not usepower powering either the transmitter or the receiver or both duringthis set period and so battery power may be saved.

The sequence of messages may comprise a first message and one or moremessages including a repetition of at least part of the first message.

Typically the device turns on the transmitter or receiver or both at atime relative to the specified time for transmitting the next messagee.g. X seconds before the next message is scheduled to be transmitted.That is the transmitter or receiver or both is turned off for aspecified time that is defined relative to the specified time fortransmitting a next message.

Whether one or both of the transmitter and receiver is turned off duringthe period will determine the extent of the power savings made. It isbelieved that turning off the transmitter alone saves more power thanturning off the receiver alone. Typical implementations may thereforecomprise turning off the transmitter between transmissions and leavingthe receiver turned on or turning off both the transmitter and receiverbetween transmissions. Although, as described above, the transmitter orreceiver or both is turned off each time a message is transmitted, powersavings (albeit less) may be made by turning off the transmitter orreceiver or both in response to the transmission of at least one messagein the sequence of messages.

The method is applicable to any wireless telecommunications device inwhich a sequence of messages is to be transmitted. In typicalimplementations, no other messages are to be transmitted by the deviceduring the period in which the transmitter or receiver or both is turnedoff. The method is particularly applicable when the device is totransmit a sequence of messages in an unacknowledged mode i.e. a mode inwhich the device does not monitor for an acknowledgement from thenetwork of receipt of the message from the device. In addition themethod is particularly applicable when the device is in a state suchthat further messages from the network are not expected during theperiod in which the sequence of messages is to be transmitted. Anexample of such a state is when the radio resources of the device arebeing released, subsequent to a command from the network.

Such a wireless telecommunications device, typically known in the art asuser equipment (UE), comprises various types of equipment such as mobiletelephones (also known as cellular or cell phones), lap tops withwireless communication capability, personal digital assistants (PDAs)etc. These may be portable, hand held, pocket sized, installed in avehicle etc and communicate voice or data signals or both with the radioaccess network.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the method as carried out bythe wireless telecommunications device. The device transmits a firstmessage of a sequence of messages, action 102. The device then carriesout a check, action 104, to determine if the message transmitted is thelast message in the sequence of messages. If so, then the methodconcerned herein is ended, action 106. If the check at action 104 isnegative, then the device proceeds to start a timer, action 108, and toturn off the transmitter or receiver or both of the device, action 110.The device then waits for a period defined by the timer, action 112. Atthe end of this period, the device then turns on the transmitter orreceiver or both that had previously been turned off, action 114. Thedevice then returns to action 102 and transmits the next message of thesequence of messages. The actions are repeated until all messages in thesequence of messages have been transmitted and then the method concernedherein ends, action 106. The transmitter or receiver or both may beturned off (action 105) in response to the last message in the sequenceof messages being transmitted (action 104 answered in the positive) toenable further power savings.

The idea will now be described further in relation to a third generationwireless telecommunications system known generally as UMTS (UniversalMobile Telecommunications System), and in particular a system thatcomplies with standards as defined by the Third Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP). 3GPP has defined many telecommunications standards andreference will now be made to the following one in particular: 3GPPTechnical Specification 25.331 which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety. Version 3.15.0 Release 99 will be considered. Howeverit is to be appreciated that the method is applicable to other versionsand subsequent updates and to any wireless system in which a sequence ofmessages as discussed above is to be transmitted.

3GPP TS 25.331 v.3.15.0 section 8.1.4 relates to the procedure torelease the radio resource control connection between a wirelesstelecommunications device (known as user equipment or UE) and thenetwork. This is known as Radio Resource Control (abbreviated to RRC)Connection Release. According to section 8.1.4.2, when the UE is in oneof two states (CELL_DCH or CELL_FACH) then the UTRAN may at any timeinitiate a RRC connection release by transmitting a message known as a“RRC CONNECTION RELEASE” message. When the UE receives a “RRC CONNECTIONRELEASE” message, and the UE is in one of the above two states, then theUE acts on the message and ultimately sends a message known as a “RRCCONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message to the network to confirm that theRRC connection has been released.

Section 8.1.4.3 sets out how the UE operates in response to the receiptof a “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE” message from the network. Variousscenarios are described and we shall now refer to the situation in whichthe UE receives the first “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE” message and is in thestate CELL_DCH (e.g. a speech call is being terminated). In this state,the device operates in an Unacknowledged Mode (UM). Section 8.1.4.6 isalso relevant to when the device is in this state and mode. Theoperation of the device in this state is shown in FIG. 2. In thisscenario, the UE firstly initialises a counter known as V308 to zero,action 202. Then, after a few processes that will not be discussedfurther here, the UE transmits the message “RRC CONNECTION RELEASECOMPLETE”, action 204. On transmission of the “RRC CONNECTION RELEASECOMPLETE” message, the UE starts a timer, known as T308, action 206. Theduration of the timer (i.e the value of T308) is defined in anInformation Element sent by the network and, according to TS 25.331v.3.15.0, may be 40, 80, 160 or 320 milliseconds with a default value of160 ms.

Once the timer has expired (action 208 being answered in theaffirmative), the counter V308 is incremented by one, action 210. Thedevice then compares the value of the counter with the value of aparameter known as N308, action 212. This parameter N308 is defined inan Information Element sent by the network and, according to TS 25.331v.3.15.0, is an integer between 1 and 8. If the value of V308 is equalto or smaller than N308, action 212, then the device retransmits (action204) the “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message, albeit with thepossibility of carrying out some modifications to information elementsin the “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message. The process thenrepeats until at action 212 the value of the counter is greater than thevalue of the parameter, at which time the device releases its radioresources and enters idle mode, action 214, and the RRC connectionrelease process at the UE ends, action 216.

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of the proposed method when applied to thescenario as set out in sections 8.1.4.3 and 8.1.4.6, when the UE is inthe state of CELL_DCH. The same reference numerals denote the sameactions as described previously. Thus, the UE firstly initialises acounter known as V308 to zero, action 202. Then, after a few processes,the UE transmits the message “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE”, action204. On transmission of the “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message,the UE starts a timer, known as T308, action 206.

The UE then turns off the transmitter or receiver or both of the device,action 110. The device then waits for a period, action 112. At the endof this period, the device then turns on the transmitter or receiver orboth that had previously been turned off, action 114. The device thenundertakes standard actions to carry out power measurements etc.required before further transmissions may be undertaken. The period ofaction 112 is typically set to be less than the period defined by thetimer T308. For example, if T308 is set to be 160 ms then the period setin action 112 is less than this (say 60 ms) so that the device has time(100 ms) to stabilise transmission power before the next transmission ofa “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message. The period may be definedto be relative to T308, for instance Xms less than T308, where X issufficient for stabilisation of the transmission power. This allows thedevice to re-establish the Dedicated Physical Channel (DPCH) in time andpreparation for the re-transmission of the next “RRC CONNECTION RELEASECOMPLETE” message (the “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” messages aretransmitted on a Dedicated Control Channel DCCH mapped to DPCH orE-DCH).

Once the timer has expired (action 208 being answered in theaffirmative), the counter V308 is incremented by one, action 210. Thedevice then compares the value of the counter with the value of aparameter known as N308, action 212. If the value of V308 is equal to orsmaller than N308, action 212, then the device retransmits (action 204)the “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message, albeit with thepossibility of carrying out some modifications to information elementsin the “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message. The process thenrepeats until at action 212 the value of the counter is greater than thevalue of the parameter, at which time the device releases its radioresources and enters idle mode, action 214, and the RRC connectionrelease process ends at the UE, action 216.

Thus the device transmits a first “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE”message of a sequence of “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” messages. Thedevice then turns off at least one of the transmitter and receiver ofthe device for a period of time. The device then turns on at least oneof the transmitter and receiver of the device at the end of the periodof time in preparation for transmitting a second “RRC CONNECTION RELEASECOMPLETE” message at a specified time. The device then transmits thesecond “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message at the specified time.This repeats until all “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” messages in thesequence of “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” messages as defined by theparameter N308 have been transmitted and then the method concernedherein ends.

The method illustrated in FIG. 3 shows the transmitter or receiver orboth being turned on and off each time the “RRC CONNECTION RELEASECOMPLETE” message is sent. Potential power savings (albeit less) may bemade by turning off the transmitter or receiver or both after at leastone transmission of a message in the sequence of messages but notnecessarily after each transmission.

The power savings provided by this method are cumulative: the greaterthe number of messages in the sequence of messages to be transmitted,the greater the power savings; also the greater the period in action112, the greater the power savings. This may be illustrated byconsidering FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C. These are examples of timings of twoembodiments of the method described. The hatched areas of FIGS. 4A, 4Band 4C indicate when the transmitter or receiver or both is turned off.

In FIG. 4A, T308=320 ms (the maximum allowed in the current standard)and the period that the transmitter or receiver or both is switched offis set to 100 ms before the end of this time i.e. 220 ms. As can be seenfrom FIG. 4A, the transmitter or receiver or both are turned off foraround 70% of the time between transmissions of the “RRC CONNECTIONRELEASE COMPLETE” message.

In FIG. 4B, T308=160 ms and the period that the transmitter or receiveror both is switched off is set to 100 ms before the end of this timei.e. 60 ms. As can be seen from FIG. 4B, the transmitter or receiver orboth are turned off for around 37% of the time between transmissions ofthe “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message.

In FIG. 4C, T308=160 ms and the period that the transmitter or receiveror both is switched off is set to 100 ms before the end of this time(i.e. 60 ms) after every other transmission of a message in the sequenceof messages. As can be seen from FIG. 4C, the transmitter or receiver orboth are turned off for around 18% of the time between transmission ofevery other “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message.

FIG. 5 illustrates a further embodiment of the method as carried out bythe wireless telecommunications device. The device transmits a firstmessage of a sequence of messages, action 502. The device then carriesout a check, action 504, to determine if the message transmitted is thelast message in the sequence of messages. If the check at action 504 isnegative, then the device proceeds to start a timer, action 508. Thedevice then waits for a period defined by the timer. At the end of thisperiod, the device then returns to action 502 and transmits the nextmessage of the sequence of messages. The actions are repeated until allmessages in the sequence of messages have been transmitted. In responseto the last message in the sequence of messages being transmitted(action 504 answered in the positive) the transmitter or receiver orboth are turned off (action 505) to enable further power savings andthen the process ends 506. This embodiment means that the device doesnot maintain the transmitter or receiver or both in an active state whenneither will be needed again for the transmission of a message in thesequence of messages. This is particularly suitable when the messagesare to terminate a radio connection between the device and the network.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of potential power savings provided by themethod shown in FIG. 5. In this example, T308=160 ms and N308=5 (thatis, the sequence of messages comprises six messages). The transmitter orreceiver or both is switched off in response to the transmission of thelast message in the sequence of messages. As can be seen from FIG. 6,the transmitter or receiver or both are turned off after thetransmission of the last “RRC CONNECTION RELEASE COMPLETE” message inthe sequence.

As can be seen from FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C and 6, power savings may beachieved by turning off the transmitter or receiver or both after thetransmission of at least one message in the sequence of messages. Thetransmitter or receiver or both may be turned off after the transmissionof the last message in the sequence of messages, after each transmissionof a message in the sequence of messages or after some transmissions ofa message in the sequence of messages but not others.

The method has been described in relation to 3GPP TechnicalSpecification 25.331 and Version 3.15.0 Release 99 in particular, whichare hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Subsequentversions of Technical Specification 25.331 refer to a Dedicated Channelknown as E-DCH and the method is also applicable to this scenario aswell as other versions and subsequent updates and to any wireless systemin which a sequence of messages for terminating a radio connection areto be transmitted from the UE.

FIG. 7 shows an overview of a network and a UE device. Clearly inpractice there may be many UE devices operating with the network but,for the sake of simplicity, FIG. 7 only shows a single UE device 900.For the purposes of illustration, FIG. 7 also shows a network 919 havinga few components. It will be clear to a person skilled in the art thatin practice a network will include far more components than those shown.

FIG. 7 shows an overview of the radio access network 919 (UTRAN) used ina UMTS system. The network 919 as shown in FIG. 7 comprises three RadioNetwork Subsystems (RNS) 2. Each RNS has a Radio Network Controller(RNC) 4. Each RNS 2 has one or more Node B 6 which are similar infunction to a Base Transmitter Station of a GSM radio access network.User Equipment UE 900 may be mobile within the radio access network.Radio connections (indicated by the straight dotted lines in FIG. 7) areestablished between the UE and one or more of the Node Bs in the UTRAN.

The radio network controller controls the use and reliability of theradio resources within the RNS 2. Each RNC may also connected to a 3Gmobile switching centre 10 (3G MSC) and a 3G serving GPRS support node12 (3G SGSN).

An RNC 4 controls one or more Node B's. An RNC plus its Node B'stogether make up an RNS 2. A Node B controls one or more cells. Eachcell is uniquely identified by a frequency and a primary scrambling code(primary CPICH in FDD, primary CCPCH in TDD).

Generally in UMTS a cell refers to a radio network object that can beuniquely identified by a UE from a cell identifier that is broadcastover geographical areas from a UTRAN access point. A UTRAN access pointis a conceptual point within the UTRAN performing radio transmission andreception. A UTRAN access point is associated with one specific celli.e., there exists one UTRAN access point for each cell. It is theUTRAN-side end point of a radio link. A single physical Node B 6 mayoperate as more than one cell since it may operate at multiplefrequencies and/or with multiple scrambling codes.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a protocol stackprovided in a UE. A Radio Resource Controller (RRC) block 832 is a sublayer of Layer 3 830 of a UMTS protocol stack 800. The RRC 832 exists inthe control plane only and provides an information transfer service tothe non-access stratum NAS 834. The RRC 832 is responsible forcontrolling the configuration of radio interface Layer 1 810 and Layer 2820. When the UTRAN wishes to change the UE configuration it will issuea message to the UE containing a command to invoke a specific RRCprocedure. The RRC layer 832 of the UE decodes this message andinitiates the appropriate RRC procedure. Generally when the procedurehas been completed (either successfully or not) then the RRC sends aresponse message to the UTRAN (via the lower layers) informing the UTRANof the outcome. It should be noted that there are a few scenarios wherethe RRC will not issue a response message to the UTRAN and, in thosecases the RRC need not and does not reply.

The strategies for an apparatus and method for transmitting messages inmobile telecommunications system user equipment as discussed above withreference to the drawings may be implemented by the RRC block 832.

Turning now to FIG. 9, FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a mobiledevice, which can act as a UE and co-operate with the apparatus andmethods of FIGS. 1 to 6, and which is an exemplary wirelesscommunication device. Mobile station 900 is preferably a two-waywireless communication device having at least voice and datacommunication capabilities. Mobile station 900 preferably has thecapability to communicate with other computer systems on the Internet.Depending on the exact functionality provided, the wireless device maybe referred to as a data messaging device, a two-way pager, a wirelesse-mail device, a cellular telephone with data messaging capabilities, awireless Internet appliance, or a data communication device, asexamples.

Where mobile station 900 is enabled for two-way communication, it willincorporate a communication subsystem 911, including both a receiver 912and a transmitter 914, as well as associated components such as one ormore, preferably embedded or internal, antenna elements 916 and 918,local oscillators (LOs) 913, and a processing module such as a digitalsignal processor (DSP) 920. As will be apparent to those skilled in thefield of communications, the particular design of the communicationsubsystem 911 will be dependent upon the communication network in whichthe device is intended to operate. For example, mobile station 900 mayinclude a communication subsystem 911 designed to operate within theMobitex™ mobile communication system, the DataTAC™ mobile communicationsystem, GPRS network, UMTS network, or EDGE network.

Network access requirements will also vary depending upon the type ofnetwork 902. For example, in the Mobitex and DataTAC networks, mobilestation 900 is registered on the network using a unique identificationnumber associated with each mobile station. In UMTS and GPRS networks,however, network access is associated with a subscriber or user ofmobile station 900. A GPRS mobile station therefore requires asubscriber identity module (SIM) card in order to operate on a GPRSnetwork. Without a valid SIM card, a GPRS mobile station will not befully functional. Local or non-network communication functions, as wellas legally required functions (if any) such as “911” emergency calling,may be available, but mobile station 900 will be unable to carry out anyother functions involving communications over the network 902. The SIMinterface 944 is normally similar to a card-slot into which a SIM cardcan be inserted and ejected like a diskette or PCMCIA card. The SIM cardcan have approximately 64 K of memory and hold many key configuration951, and other information 953 such as identification, and subscriberrelated information.

When required network registration or activation procedures have beencompleted, mobile station 900 may send and receive communication signalsover the network 902. Signals received by antenna 916 throughcommunication network 902 are input to receiver 912, which may performsuch common receiver functions as signal amplification, frequency downconversion, filtering, channel selection and the like, and in theexample system shown in FIG. 9, analog to digital (A/D) conversion. A/Dconversion of a received signal allows more complex communicationfunctions such as demodulation and decoding to be performed in the DSP920. In a similar manner, signals to be transmitted are processed,including modulation and encoding for example, by DSP 920 and input totransmitter 914 for digital to analog conversion, frequency upconversion, filtering, amplification and transmission over thecommunication network 902 via antenna 918. DSP 920 not only processescommunication signals, but also provides for receiver and transmittercontrol. For example, the gains applied to communication signals inreceiver 912 and transmitter 914 may be adaptively controlled throughautomatic gain control algorithms implemented in DSP 920.

Mobile station 900 preferably includes a microprocessor 938 whichcontrols the overall operation of the device. Communication functions,including at least data and voice communications, are performed throughcommunication subsystem 911. Microprocessor 938 also interacts withfurther device subsystems such as the display 922, flash memory 924,random access memory (RAM) 926, auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystems928, serial port 930, keyboard 932, speaker 934, microphone 936, ashort-range communications subsystem 940 and any other device subsystemsgenerally designated as 942.

Some of the subsystems shown in FIG. 9 perform communication-relatedfunctions, whereas other subsystems may provide “resident” or on-devicefunctions. Notably, some subsystems, such as keyboard 932 and display922, for example, may be used for both communication-related functions,such as entering a text message for transmission over a communicationnetwork, and device-resident functions such as a calculator or tasklist.

Operating system software used by the microprocessor 938 is preferablystored in a persistent store such as flash memory 924, which may insteadbe a read-only memory (ROM) or similar storage element (not shown).Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the operating system,specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarilyloaded into a volatile memory such as RAM 926. Received communicationsignals may also be stored in RAM 926.

As shown, flash memory 924 can be segregated into different areas forboth computer programs 958 and program data storage 950, 952, 954 and956. These different storage types indicate that each program canallocate a portion of flash memory 924 for their own data storagerequirements. Microprocessor 938, in addition to its operating systemfunctions, preferably enables execution of software applications on themobile station. A predetermined set of applications that control basicoperations, including at least data and voice communication applicationsfor example, will normally be installed on mobile station 900 duringmanufacturing. A preferred software application may be a personalinformation manager (PIM) application having the ability to organize andmanage data items relating to the user of the mobile station such as,but not limited to, e-mail, calendar events, voice mails, appointments,and task items. Naturally, one or more memory stores would be availableon the mobile station to facilitate storage of PIM data items. Such PIMapplication would preferably have the ability to send and receive dataitems, via the wireless network 902. In a preferred embodiment, the PIMdata items are seamlessly integrated, synchronized and updated, via thewireless network 902, with the mobile station user's corresponding dataitems stored or associated with a host computer system. Furtherapplications may also be loaded onto the mobile station 900 through thenetwork 902, an auxiliary I/O subsystem 928, serial port 930,short-range communications subsystem 940 or any other suitable subsystem942, and installed by a user in the RAM 926 or preferably a non-volatilestore (not shown) for execution by the microprocessor 938. Suchflexibility in application installation increases the functionality ofthe device and may provide enhanced on-device functions,communication-related functions, or both. For example, securecommunication applications may enable electronic commerce functions andother such financial transactions to be performed using the mobilestation 900.

In a data communication mode, a received signal such as a text messageor web page download will be processed by the communication subsystem911 and input to the microprocessor 938, which preferably furtherprocesses the received signal for output to the display 922, oralternatively to an auxiliary I/O device 928. A user of mobile station900 may also compose data items such as email messages for example,using the keyboard 932, which is preferably a complete alphanumerickeyboard or telephone-type keypad, in conjunction with the display 922and possibly an auxiliary I/O device 928. Such composed items may thenbe transmitted over a communication network through the communicationsubsystem 911.

For voice communications, overall operation of mobile station 900 issimilar, except that received signals would preferably be output to aspeaker 934 and signals for transmission would be generated by amicrophone 936. Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems, such as avoice message recording subsystem, may also be implemented on mobilestation 900. Although voice or audio signal output is preferablyaccomplished primarily through the speaker 934, display 922 may also beused to provide an indication of the identity of a calling party, theduration of a voice call, or other voice call related information forexample.

Serial port 930 in FIG. 9, would normally be implemented in a personaldigital assistant (PDA)-type mobile station for which synchronizationwith a user's desktop computer (not shown) may be desirable, but is anoptional device component. Such a port 930 would enable a user to setpreferences through an external device or software application and wouldextend the capabilities of mobile station 900 by providing forinformation or software downloads to mobile station 900 other thanthrough a wireless communication network. The alternate download pathmay for example be used to load an encryption key onto the devicethrough a direct and thus reliable and trusted connection to therebyenable secure device communication.

Other communications subsystems 940, such as a short-rangecommunications subsystem, is a further optional component which mayprovide for communication between mobile station 900 and differentsystems or devices, which need not necessarily be similar devices. Forexample, the subsystem 940 may include an infrared device and associatedcircuits and components or a Bluetooth™ communication module to providefor communication with similarly enabled systems and devices.

When mobile device 900 is used as a UE, protocol stacks 946 includeapparatus and method for transmitting messages in mobiletelecommunications system user equipment.

Extensions and Alternatives

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evidentthat various modifications and changes may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the scope of the technique. The specification anddrawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather thana restrictive sense.

It is to be noted that the methods as described have actions beingcarried out in a particular order. However, it would be clear to aperson skilled in the art that the order of any actions performed, wherethe context permits, can be varied and thus the ordering as describedherein is not intended to be limiting.

It is also to be noted that where a method has been described it is alsointended that protection is also sought for a device arranged to carryout the method and where features have been claimed independently ofeach other these may be used together with other claimed features.

Furthermore it will be noted that the apparatus described herein maycomprise a single component such as a UE or UTRAN or other userequipment or access network components, a combination of multiple suchcomponents for example in communication with one another or asub-network or full network of such components.

Embodiments have been described herein in relation to 3GPPspecifications. However the method and apparatus described are notintended to be limited to the specifications or the versions thereofreferred to herein but may be applicable to future versions or otherspecifications.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Officepatent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

1. A method of transmitting a sequence of messages from a wirelesstelecommunications device to a telecommunications network, the sequenceof messages comprising a plurality of messages to be transmitted atspecified times, the method comprising: turning off at least one of thetransmitter and receiver of the device after transmission of at leastone of the messages in the sequence of messages.
 2. A method accordingto claim 1 further comprising: turning off at least one of thetransmitter and receiver of the device for a period of time aftertransmission of a message in the sequence of messages; and turning on atleast one of the transmitter and receiver of the device at the end ofthe period of time in preparation for transmitting a further message ofthe sequence of messages at a specified time.
 3. A method according toclaim 2 further comprising turning off at least one of the transmitterand receiver of the device after the transmission of each message in thesequence of messages.
 4. A method according to claim 1 furthercomprising initiating the turning off at least one of the transmitterand receiver of the device in response to transmission of the finalmessage in the sequence of messages.
 5. A method according to claim 1wherein the messages in the sequence of messages are to terminate aradio connection between the device and the network.
 6. A methodaccording to claim 1 wherein the second and any subsequent messages inthe sequence of messages include a repeat of at least part of the firstmessage.
 7. A method according to claim 1 wherein, during transmissionof the sequence of messages, the messages are transmitted in anunacknowledged mode.
 8. A method according to claim 1 wherein the deviceis operable in accordance with the Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem.
 9. A method according to claim 1 wherein the sequence ofmessages comprises a sequence of Radio Resource Control ConnectionRelease Complete messages.
 10. A method according to claim 1 wherein,after transmitting a message, both the transmitter and the receiver ofthe device are turned off.
 11. A wireless telecommunications devicearranged to transmit a sequence of messages to a telecommunicationsnetwork, the sequence of messages comprising a plurality of messages tobe transmitted at specified times, the device comprising means to:transmit a message of the sequence of messages; and turn off at leastone of the transmitter and receiver of the device after transmission ofat least one of the messages in the sequence of messages.
 12. A deviceaccording to claim 11 further arranged to: turn off at least one of thetransmitter and receiver of the device for a period of time aftertransmission of a message in the sequence of messages; and turn on atleast one of the transmitter and receiver of the device at the end ofthe period of time in preparation for transmitting a further message ofthe sequence of messages at a specified time.
 13. A device according toclaim 12 further arranged to turn off at least one of the transmitterand receiver of the device after transmission of each message in thesequence of messages.
 14. A device according to claim 11 furtherarranged to initiate the turning off at least one of the transmitter andreceiver of the device in response to transmission of the final messagein the sequence of messages.
 15. A device according to claim 11 whereinthe messages in the sequence of messages are to terminate a radioconnection between the device and the network.
 16. A device according toclaim 11 wherein the second and any subsequent messages in the sequenceof messages include a repeat of at least part of the first message. 17.A device according to claim 11 wherein the device is arranged totransmit the messages in an unacknowledged mode.
 18. A device accordingto claim 11 wherein the device is operable in accordance with theUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System.
 19. A device according toclaim 11 wherein the sequence of messages comprises a sequence of RadioResource Connection Release Complete messages.
 20. A device according toclaim 11 wherein the device is arranged to turn off both the transmitterand the receiver after transmitting a message.
 21. A computer programcomprising program code for use in a wireless telecommunications device,the computer program causing the wireless communications device tooperate according to the method of claim 1.